Birth stories | The positive C section

We are away on holiday this week, so I have some fantastic guest post features for you. Today I have a C section story from My Mummy’s World.

When I had my first born child I had a lovely natural birth, natural progression with just a little gas and air as pain relief. However his little heart beat was dropping and the midwife wanted a doctor to check; this point I panicked and pushed. Whilst I never needed the intervention I did cause myself a rather nasty fourth degree tear. Before being discharged, I remember talking with the consultant who advised me any future children would be best delivered by caesarean section. At that point my world sank; I felt that the whole idea of birth had gone out the window.

All I had ever heard people say was a caesarean is the posh way to birth, the cheat’s way to birth. I’m sure you’ve heard them all and that was all rushing through my head, I wasn’t even planning another child in the near future and already felt a failure to my second born.

Fast forward a few years and I discover I’m pregnant with my second child. The thoughts of the caesarean came flooding back, but this time I don’t remember being half as concerned as when I was first told. I knew the caesarean was at the best interest of my unborn child as well as myself in the long run. Throughout the pregnancy I had many mixed thoughts but would always try to mainly focus on the positives, believe me there are positives, no matter what people say.

I had just one meeting with the consultant who booked my caesarean in at 16 weeks, and discharged me to midwife led care for the remainder of the pregnancy. Not returning to them until my pre-op a week beforehand.

The day before my section arrived, I headed to the hospital to have my first injection. That evening I felt a mixture of feelings, but mostly excitement, because my world was going to change the following day. I would be lying if I didn’t say I didn’t have a slight fear about what was coming but it really was a slight fear.

The following morning I woke super early and arrived at the hospital for 7.30am as asked. I was the first scheduled section for that day -great I thought I’ll have a baby by lunch if not mid-morning. Just after 8am, I had my blood pressure taken and was gowned up – fantastic I’ll be going soon. Around half an hour later the anaesthetist came in to introduce himself, followed by the surgeon – they told me they would see me in theatre in around half an hour.

1 o’clock came and it was shift change, I still hadn’t been taken to theatre and was still pregnant. Not exactly how I expected my planned section to go, however I knew the ladies using the theatre before me had a much more urgent need. My baby was in no distress and neither was I – apart from being thirsty.

However, every cloud has a silver lining right?
Another surgeon came in to introduce himself, must have seen some frustration and shortly after I was in the theatre. This surgeon seemed a lot more caring and in a way I was glad I was delayed.

Everything was done in a calm environment, music playing in the background and everything explained to me. I’ve not had a section before so unsure how to compare it but from what my friend told me about hers, mine was a lot slower and calmer as there was no immediate rush or need.

When I got through to theatre I was introduced to all of the staff members in there, had some things explained to me and away they went. Firstly I had my spinal in, which was painless, I simply lent forward over a pillow had a sharp scratch with the local anaesthetic and then the spinal placed in. I was then laid back and hooked up to the blood pressure machine, and had the ECG stickers placed on me and was hooked up to the drip. The bed was then tilted to the left and my catheter placed whilst we waited for the surgeon.

Getting baby out didn’t take long at all, I remember hearing my waters whooshing into whatever they go into, and then hearing a baby cry. Shortly after being stitched up I was back in recovery with my little newborn for a short while before heading onto the ward. I was in hospital for the one night and went home the following lunchtime. I was up walking around just 7 hours after she was born.

My caesarean was nothing like all the horror stories I had heard, not as painful as I was told and certainly not any less of a birth than with my first born. My recovery process was again not as horrible as I’d been told. I was shopping on day 4, although a little sore afterwards.

1 Comment

My c section was amazing, like you we had music playing in the background and it was all really calm. I was home two days after having our little lady and happily shopping and moving around the following day…